On a cold and Icy November morning 13 members of Stratford CC boarded the salubrious luxury of a National Award winning Johnson’s Coaches Mini coach and were whisked to the International Velodrome in Newport, South Wales. Arriving at the velodrome we met with our cycling chums who had made their own way to this fantastic lottery funded facility.

As we made our way to track centre we were lucky enough to watch a track cycling master class as two local heros put the finishing touches to their form in preparation for the world cup meetings over the next month. Winner of the 2005 Paris – Roubaix Classic, Magnus Backsted was trying gear ratios for the individual pursuit and Nicole Cooke fine tuning her legs for sprinting was making the most of the lead out from the Derny. Both these two superstars were very approachable and seem not to mind the attentions of our group of club cyclists.

As the start of the Stratford session approached the club members went to select and fit the hire bikes. As a fleet of red Pinarellos appeared a nervous laughter spread through the venue as the roadies got used to the idea of having a fixed wheel and no brakes. During the trip to the changing rooms it seemed that the banking got steeper and more imposing. Neil Smith the coach then briefed our group about essential safety information about the track reminding us about wearing track mitts and remembering that you can cycle a long way on the track without going anywhere which can mislead ones appreciation of fatigue.

Neil had brought along a few local youth riders who are members of the local Newport Velo Club, this is principally a track club and these young riders demonstrated with great confidence and ability the techniques we were to learn and develop. Split into 3 groups of 8 riders we went onto the track for a warm-up. Trying to follow firstly the black pursuiters line, then the red sprinters line, then the blue motor pacers line. The first thing to strike us was the difference in noises and feeling of the bikes. They were very light in steering and responsive, and this coupled with the banking meant that the concentration required was high. After 20 minutes warm up and about 7 miles we returned to track centre.

At this point we noticed that the workload was high and the air in the Velodrome was dry, we all drank vast quantities of liquid, a theme that would last for the session. After a quick sandwich we then we returned to the track for some technique exercises. This time taking turns for the rider at the front to use the banking to move up the track on the bend allowing their speed to drop before using the height gained to then accelerate back to the back of the group.

Another 15 minutes and 5 miles. The next exercise involved all 24 riders riding at a constant pace around the motorpace line in a long string. On hearing the coach’s whistle the leading two riders had to attack and work together to gain a lap on the group. This was the first opportunity to get some real speed up on the track. At speed there was a real sense of the force in the bends and for riders used to the road a strange smoothness and ease at maintaining 30mph or so. Another 25 minutes and 8 miles.

For the next exercise we split into groups and rode 2 lengths apart on the blue line, the rider at the back would then weave in and out of the riders to take their place at the front of the group. Whilst formating for this Steve Falkner experimented to see how slowly you could ride on the blue line. The answer was just a touch faster than he was going, bearing in mind he was at the front of the group we were lucky he only brought one other down, no harm done. Later, Neil, the coach, said that the slowest that you can get away with is about 15mph depending on weight and ability. 15 minutes and about 5 miles.

The last technique exercise was stacking. 3 riders ride abreast each other. The rider at the top would then move down the track to take the place of the rider at the bottom with the others moving up the track. This was quite hard because the rider at the top has to go quite fast to keep pace and balance compared to the rider at the bottom. With the whole club on the track at the same time also this looked quite impressive. Another 15 minutes and 5 miles.

Neil then split us into groups of 3 for a go at a mini team pursuit. The visiting contingent from Wyre Forest formed the strongest team although the Stratford contingent put some good teams together and it was good fun to have a go at racing each other. In the spirit of “We are the Champions” we then had 20 minutes free time on the track to play about and warm down and this was good fun if not a touch disorganised with the varying speeds and lines resembling a Saturday afternoon session at an ice rink. Another 25 minutes and 7 miles.

After a warm shower and quick slice of cake we reboarded the coach for the journey home with a buzz of accomplishment and tiredness. Hardly surprising with around 35 miles of “new” and exciting cycling in our legs. Will we do it again? You bet we had a great time and if you couldn’t make it to this one you will be more than welcome to the next one.

Tom Heenan
29/11/05